Despotate of Thornia
Thornia, officially the Despotate of Thornia, was a constituent state of the League of Palus. Its territory encompassed the historical region of the original Thornia colony (around the Bay of Thornia) stretching from the foothills of the Shanjing Mountains to the west and the plains of northern Goruid to the east. Its capital was Palus Urbem, the site of the original colony of Thornica. The despotate was succeeded by the State of Goruid. History The modern state of Thornia was founded on 28 November 2019 after further amendments were made to the November Declaration that merged the former Thornian state with the Holy States colonies of Plantation Province and The Great North. Under this new constitutional arrangement, the State of Thornia is allowed to have its own trading and construction laws separate from Colisia and Sabara. On 2 December 2019, Thornia started accepting migrants from the Umic homeland. Wey Yao, Governor of South Ume, was appointed Mayor of Cataracta and District Chief of the Cataracta District (which encompasses the extreme hills on the western side of the Bay of Thornia). On 5 December 2019, Thornia became a kingdom as part of the Crown Lands of Paludumia. On 6 December, it reverted to being a state but as a direct member of the Paludumian Empire instead of Paludumia proper. On 8 December 2019, Clarence changed his title as ruler of Thornia from Governor to Despot, turning the state into a lordship or despotate. Thornia also entered a conflict known as the Pillager War which saw its forces fight off numerous attacks from hostile mobs and pillager factions against its villages and colonies. On 16 December 2019, the despotate became a member of the League of Palus as the Paludumian Republic was dissolved. Thornia lost its final traditional territory in the form of the Marshes, Catarcta, and South Coast districts (which together became the Palus Capital Territory), in addition to the secession of the Western Forest. As much of the historic regions of Thornia no longer belong to the despotate, the despotate has been considering a potential renaming of the state, as well as a re-centering and re-focusing of the state government's future plans. Further withdrawals from The Great North may be carried out, with control being reduced to coastal areas rather than abandoning territory outright in exchange for the establishment of new colonies in the far east. Economy The state's natural resources have allowed it effectively fund and run the rest of Paludumia, and through Paludumia it also has a large influence over the Holy States. The iron-rich central marshes have made the state a lucrative mining territory, while the expansive forests to the west offers an abundance of timer, and the expansive plains to the east allow the state to produce excess amounts of food for itself and for export. Districts Thornia is divided into numerous districts normally centred around a settlement or a series of settlements. All districts are named after their capital, with the exception of Colisia (where its original capital was mis-located and administration was moved to Septium) and Goruid (which does not have a capital yet and is simply named after the peninsula).